Wednesday, January 2, 2013

New Year comes in with roar of Chicago gunfire

The new year rolled into Chicago the same way the old year rolled out -- in a blaze of gunfire.

Chicago ends 2012 with a total of 506 murders, a `16% jump from Rahm's first year in office. 2013 didn't exactly come in like a lamb. Three homicides, and 15 more other non-fatal shootings were reported around the city's South and West sides between the early morning hours and early evening on New Year's Day.

Rahm's people, including top-cop McCarthy are holding the city's gangs and the weather largely responsible.

The Tribune reports:

"Largely contributing to the spike was the unusual number of homicides that occurred during the early part of the year, when the city experienced unseasonable warmth. In the first three months of the year, homicides ran about 60 percent ahead of the 2011 rate."

But big cities across the country, all with unseasonably warm weather this past spring, mostly show reductions in murders. New York broke its record for fewest murders and Aurora, Illinois' second largest city which shares Chicago's gangs and weather, recorded ZERO KILLINGS. The state's third-largest city, Rockford, had 14 homicides in 2012, the city's lowest number since the 2004 total of eight.

Since even Rahm, the city's little emperor, can't fix the weather, he'd better come up with some new ideas.

Cook County Board Pres. Toni Preckwinkle makes a little more sense. She says that even a restructured or enlarged police department can't fix Chicago’s violent crime problem, which is deeply rooted in poverty and a lack of resources for poor communities.

Both the mayor and Preckwinkle could start by reopening many of the neighborhood mental health clinics that have been closed in the past year. Next Rahm could put a hold on neighborhood school closings and other policies that destabilize south and westside neighborhoods.

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